Heritage Happy Hour is a convivial “no-host” gathering of heritage professionals, young preservationists, aficionados, friends, and Legacy Business cohorts interested in safeguarding San Francisco’s unique architectural and cultural identity. We get together on the Second Thursday of each month from 5-7 pm at a registered Legacy Business bar in San Francisco. These are no-host events organized by San Francisco Heritage and the Legacy Business Program, SF Office of Small Business.
Network with Friends & Colleagues at Historic Places in the City!
2026 Happy Hour locations
November 12, 2026: 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street. **Registration coming soon** Open since 1993, 111 Minna Gallery is a bar, event space, and premiere contemporary art gallery that has worked to support local and national artists of every level and discipline. For decades it has served as a civic commons, hosting neighborhood events for a myriad of cultural and civic institutions.
October 8, 2026: Murio’s Trophy Room, 1811 Haight Street. **Registration coming soon** Murio’s is a neighborhood bar in the Haight established in 1959. They serve beer, wine, and cocktails and also offer pool, pinball, live music, and comedy events. Only a block away from beautiful Golden Gate Park and surrounded by fantastic restaurants and shopping (including other legacy businesses on the block like Cha Cha Cha), there’s no better place to unwind and grab a drink after a long day of exploring the city.
September 10, 2026: Lone Star Saloon, 1354 Harrison Street. **Register here** Located in the South of Market in the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District, Lone Star Saloon is a neighborhood bar established in 1989. It was founded by Rick Redewell, who envisioned a space where working class, blue collar gay men could gather and be celebrated. Today, it is known as the bar associated with the emergence of bear culture in the 1980s-1990s, and its importance to the local LGBTQ+ community and the bar community cannot be overstated.
August 13, 2026: Chile Lindo, 2943 16th Street. Chile Lindo is a traditional Chilean bakery in the Mission District famous for its empanadas, cakes, and “dulce chilenos” (pastries). The restaurant has had Chilean ownership since its founding in 1973, and since then has grown its presence in the community to promote Chilean culture through its cuisine.
July 9, 2026: Kilowatt, 3160 16th Street. Kilowatt is a multi-purpose community space that functions mainly as a live music venue and bar. It also contains a newly created upstairs private event space that doubles as overnight lodging for touring bands. Serving an incredibly broad array of people from its prime location in the Mission District, from musicians of every type of genre, location, age, and demographic to neighborhood San Franciscans looking for a place to watch their favorite sports game, Kilowatt serves all people as a community hub.
June 11, 2026: The Gregangelo Museum, 225 San Leandro Way. The Gregangelo Museum is the home and studio of Gregangelo Herrera, an acclaimed queer artist of Lebanese and Mexican descent, that welcomes invited clients, curious travelers, and locals alike as and museum. It is a multifaceted, immersive experience created by Herrera and a team of dedicated artists, where guests are guided through an ever-evolving art lab that ignites the senses and sparks the imagination. The museum’s home in Balboa Terrace is also designated as San Francisco Landmark No. 318.
May 7, 2026: Fior d’Italia, 2237 Mason Street. This happy hour will also serve as the Legacy Business Program’s 5th Annual Mixer, a public celebration of San Francisco’s over 500 registered Legacy Businesses. It is also an opportunity for Legacy Business owners to meet, socialize, and network. The event will spotlight North Beach host business Fior d’Italia, one of the oldest restaurants in the country dedicated to the authentic cuisine and traditional recipes that “Mama” made for the family in Northern Italy. Fior d’Italia will provide appetizers, courtesy of the Legacy Business Program, in their newly renovated space.
April 9, 2026: Cha Cha Cha, 1801 Haight Street. Cha Cha Cha is a Caribbean-inspired restaurant originally established by Philip Bellber and Leon Pak in the Haight-Ashbury in 1984 and known for its delicious tapas, famous sangria, entertainment, and event hosting.
March 12, 2026: Sai’s Vietnamese Restaurant and Bar, 42 Columbus Avenue. First opened in 1982 in the Tenderloin, legacy business Sai’s Restaurant and Bar is starting a new chapter at the edge of Jackson Square at 42 Columbus Avenue. Today at Sai’s, you’ll find bustling crowds and a consistent menu of various noodle soups, vermicelli bowls, grilled dishes, curries, rice plates, wok-stir fried dishes, clay pots, banh mi sandwiches, and different vegetarian and vegan options. Read more about their history in this piece by SF Heritage.
February 12, 2026: 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street Sabella and La Torre, 2809 Taylor Street. As one of the oldest seafood restaurants in Fisherman’s Wharf, Sabella and La Torre carries a proud tradition of fresh seafood served at the wharf. Operating out of 2809 Taylor Street since 1927, what started as a fish stand opened by Luciano Sabella evolved into a sit-down restaurant in 1946 at the same location, with the La Torre family joining as owners at this time. The stand originally sold crab, and the restaurant today continues to specialize in garlic crab. The Sabella and La Torre families continue their proud ownership of this legacy spot to this day.
January 8, 2026: Italian-American Social Club, 25 Russia Avenue. Just off of busy Mission Street on Russia Avenue, this institutional building is an example of the Excelsior’s Italian-American heritage. The Club’s history dates back to 1928, when it focused on providing social activities for Italian-American men such as cards, pool, and bocce before transitioning to hosting large family functions such as dinner parties and wedding banquets. The IASC moved into its current Art Deco building in August 1940, which features a series of piers inset with floriated molding and decorative green, white, and red ornament along the roofline (the colors of the Italian flag).
Interested in hosting Heritage Happy Hour at your Legacy Business? Please contact info@sfheritage.org for more information.
(previous) 2025 Happy Hour locations
December 11, 2025: Gino and Carlo, 548 Green Street. With its distinctive neon blade sign on the busy block of Green Street in North Beach, Gino and Carlo has served the neighborhood as a classic sports bar for over 70 years. Two friends, Gino and Carlo, wanted their place to serve the area’s working class and, more specifically, those who worked the graveyard shift. The business opened at 6 am to serve this niche–a practice that continues today.
November 13, 2025: Pier 23 Cafe Restaurant & Bar, Pier 23 Embarcadero. Family owned and operated since 1986, Pier 23 Cafe is known for its expansive Bay-side patio and its fresh local seafood, strong cocktails, and live music. Its location draws both locals and tourists, who enjoy sweeping views of Treasure Island and staple dishes like fish and chips, clam chowder, and vegan tacos.
October 9, 2025: Suppenküche, 525 Laguna Street. Open since 1993, Suppenküche offers German cuisine in an atmosphere of a Bavarian beer hall. Featuring warm lighting and wooden tables with communal dining, it brings the feeling of a traditional pub that one would usually find in Europe. The restaurant also prides itself as one of the original businesses that helped revitalize the Hayes Valley neighborhood in the 1990s.
September 11, 2025: The Ramp Restaurant, 855 Terry A. Francois Blvd. Originally a public boat ramp and bait shop in the 1960s, the Ramp is situated on the water’s edge in the Dogpatch neighborhood.
August 14, 2025: The EndUp, 401 6th Street. Originally opened in 1973 as an after-hours LGBTQ+ country western nightclub, today the Endup is a comfortably intimate day-club and after-hours spot in the SOMA neighborhood. For over 50 years, locals have come to know the saying, “everyone ends up at the Endup.”
July 10, 2025: California Wine Merchant, 2113 Chestnut Street. Opened by current owner Greg O’Flynn in 1974, California Wine Merchant is a wine shop and wine bar in the heart of the Marina District. The business was unique when it came onto the scene for primarily selling California wines, at a time when the state’s wine reputation was starting to rise in the industry. This tradition continues today, with the Wine Merchant emphasizing high quality, emerging producers. In addition to pouring 50 wines by the glass, the shop hosts “Meet the Winemaker Tastings” as well as a Quarterly Wine Club, and has served as a training ground for many of its employees who have since established successful careers in the wine business.
June 12, 2025: The Stud, 1123 Folsom Street. Founded in 1966 by George Mason and Richard Conroy, The Stud is San Francisco’s oldest continuously operated LGBTQ+ bar and one of the world’s most famous drag bars. After closing its doors in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, it reopened last year a few blocks away from its longtime home on 9th Street in the South of Market neighborhood. The Stud is the first collectively owned queer bar in the country and continues the tradition of hosting authentic queer performance art that has become an integral part of the bar’s history.
May 8, 2025: Izzy’s Steaks and Chops, 3345 Steiner Street. This happy hour will serve as the Legacy Business Program’s 4th Annual Mixer, a public celebration of San Francisco’s over 400 registered Legacy Businesses. It is also an opportunity for Legacy Business owners to meet, socialize, and network. The event will spotlight host business Izzy’s Steaks and Chops, a family-owned restaurant in the Marina District opened since 1987. Izzy’s will provide appetizers, courtesy of the Legacy Business Program, in their newly renovated space.
April 10, 2025: Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell Street. Located in North Beach, Peña Pachamama promotes a spirit of community conviviality, entertainment, and service as a restaurant, bar, and performance space. Established in the early 1990s, they keep the calendar packed with fantastic artists and sounds from all over the world, including Bolivia, Cuba, Spain, Hawaii, and Argentina, and specialize in Bolivian- and Peruvian-inspired vegan and organic cuisine.
March 13, 2025: Savoy Tivoli, 1434 Grant Avenue. The Savoy Tivoli is a historic community bar in North Beach renowned for its cocktails, live music, and vibrant events. Originally opened in 1907 as a traditional Italian restaurant and boarding house (as “New Tivoli”), the business has grown into a refuge for locals and visitors seeking inspiration, a good drink, and chance to write their story.
February 13, 2025: Bissap Baobab, 2243 Mission Street. Bissap Baobab is a Senegalese restaurant and a global entertainment venue in the heart of the Mission District. It blends dining, culture, lively music, and entertainment, and offers an array of dishes that reflect French West African culture. The venue is known for its vibrant Latin and Afrobeat events on some nights, and hosts international performances monthly.
January 9, 2025: Mr. Bing’s, 201 Columbus Avenue. Mr. Bing’s Cocktail Lounge, commonly known as “Mr. Bing’s” or “Bing’s” is a bar located on the cusp of the Chinatown, North Beach, and the Financial District neighborhoods that has operated for over five decades. Prior to Mr. Bing’s, 201 Columbus Avenue first hosted an Italian speakeasy named “Zaza’s,” which operated during the prohibition era under the guise of a furniture store. Mr. Bing’s Cocktail Lounge opened its doors for the first time in 1967, named after its original owner and founder, Henry Grant, who ran the bar until his retirement in 2017. Mr. Bing was Henry’s nickname.
(previous) 2024 Happy Hour locations
December 12, 2024: Spec’s Twelve Adler Museum Cafe, 12 William Saroyan Place. Since 1968, Specs’ 12 Adler Museum Cafe has served as a cultural institution and watering hole for writers, artists, activists, travelers, and weirdos, encompassing a diverse crowd representative of San Francisco’s vibrant community.
November 14, 2024: Butter Bar, 354 11th Street. The Butter Bar & Restaurant was created by brothers Carlton and Chris Solle, who were two of San Francisco’s top house music promoters and leaders in the emerging electronic music and dance industry. During their nightlife-promoting efforts, they developed the concept for a cozy theme bar that would be a home to the city’s nightlife community and for the industry’s DJs, promoters and producers to have a place they could call their own.
October 10, 2024: The Blue Light, 1979 Union Street. The Blue Light is a neighborhood food, music, and sports bar founded by legendary rock star Boz Scaggs in 1978. Upon its opening, the venue became an institution for live music, with Scaggs himself often performing on the premises. Welcoming and warm, the bar is an inviting place for people to gather in San Francisco’s historic Cow Hollow neighborhood. No matter where you are from you leave The Blue Light cheerful and happier after having eaten good food, enjoyed a beer or cocktail, listened to great live music, caught up with old friends, and met new people – a real San Francisco experience.
September 12, 2024: Elixir, 3200 16th Street.
August 8, 2024: St. Mary’s Pub, 3845 Mission Street.
July 11, 2024: The Dubliner, 3838 24th Street.
June 13, 2024: El Rio, 3158 Mission Street.
May 9, 2024: Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia Street.
April 11, 2024: The Plough and the Stars, 116 Clement Street.
March 14, 2024: Doc’s Clock, 2417 Mission Street.
February 8, 2024: The Irish Bank, 10 Mark Lane.
January 11, 2024: Pop’s Bar, 2800 24th Street. From an underground bar in the 1930s, to an Irish post-World War II flyboy bar in the 1940s and 1950s, to a fixture of the Calle 24 cultural district in the present, Pop’s has served a range of Mission District communities over its history. A proud neighborhood “watering hole,” Pop’s opens at 6:00 AM for those working graveyard or odd-schedule jobs to decompress after a long night shift, and hosts popular weddings, memorial services, and other themed nights. Plus, great neon sign!
(previous) 2023 Happy Hour locations
December 14, 2023: LiPo Lounge, 916 Grant Avenue. From Atlas Obscura: Li Po is considered a dive bar, but one with a very distinct atmosphere and appearance. According to Trina Robbins, author of Forbidden City: The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs, Li Po is the only club that still looks like it did back in the day. In an interview with Collectors Weekly, she said, “Absolutely everything is the same as it was back in 1937 when it opened.” From the street, Li Po is recognizable for its cave-like entrance, where a set of red-lacquered double doors sit in a frame of rocks. Then there’s the 70-year-old neon lantern that hangs above the entrance, a rare hexagonal sign that appeared briefly in the 1947 film The Lady from Shanghai. For years, the iconic lantern was a flickering, dilapidated sight, befitting of Li Po’s dive bar status. But in 2018, a grant allowed Li Po to restore the neon lantern, which now shines bright red with clearly visible lettering.
November 9, 2023: Old Ship Saloon, 298 Pacific Avenue. The old pioneer ship Arkansas, which arrived in Yerba Buena in 1849, under command of Capt. W.W. Shepherd, and on which the United States Hotel on Pacific Street was built. The present building was rebuilt in 1907 by Henry Klee & Co. after incurring severe damage from the 1906 earthquake and fire, The interior was extensively remodeled and modernized in August of 1999 and reopened under the current moniker in September of the same year. One fact remains constant throughout history, the Old Ship has been a Saloon since 1851. The Old Ship Saloon is known for its cocktails and beer. It also serves pub grub.
October 12, 2023: Haas-Lilienthal House, 2007 Franklin St. In honor of spooky season, we are meeting at the luxurious Queen Anne-style Haas-Lilienthal House and Museum. The Haas–Lilienthal House is a historic building located at 2007 Franklin Street in San Francisco, California, United States, within the Pacific Heights neighborhood. Built in 1886 for William and Bertha Haas, it survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fire. The house is a San Francisco Designated Landmark and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is the city’s only intact Victorian era home that is open regularly as a museum, complete with period furniture and artifacts. As of 2016, it received over 6,500 visitors annually.
Sept. 14, 2023: Buena Vista Cafe, 2765 Hyde Street. About the Buena Vista Cafe: “The original building where the Buena Vista sits today was a boardinghouse until 1916 when the landlord converted the first floor into a saloon. That saloon was named the Buena Vista. (“Good View” in Spanish) The view was good indeed and it served as a warm meeting place for hundreds of fishermen and handlers who worked for the nearby Sardine Cannery. There they could take in a whiskey while scouting the bay for incoming fishing boats which would mean, “Quick! Finish your drink and back to meet the boats!” In 1952, with the help of a Pulitzer-Prize winning writer, the Buena Vista introduced to the world it’s now famous Irish Coffee. The recipe has never changed and the view is still quite good.”
August 10, 2023: Bay View Boat Club, 489 Terry A. Francois Blvd. About Bay View Boat Club: “The Bay View has long-standing tradition of hospitality in the Bay Area community, as we blend boating with down-home food, live entertainment and local art. Our members have proven to be competitive in the Bay Area racing scene.”
July 13, 2023: Hockey Haven, 3625 Balboa Street. Hockey Haven is a neighborhood sports bar out in the Richmond District that has served San Francisco since 1949. The original owner was a French Canadian who played hockey for the New York Rangers, named Rene Trudell. He was married at the time to a woman named Hilda, and together they owned the bar for 40 years. His wife Hilda eventually took over the bar and owned it until 1989 when Josephine Burns bought the bar. Current owner Erin Massey, who came to Hockey Haven in 2001 and purchased the bar in 2018, is the third woman to own this thriving neighborhood space in its over 70 year history. Hockey Haven joined the #SFLegacyBiz Registry in 2019, one of only two legacy bars in the Richmond District (the other being The Plough and Stars).
June 8, 2023: Moby Dick, 4049 18th Street. Established in 1977, Moby Dick is one of the oldest gay bars in the Castro and an integral part of LGBTQ+ community history. Moby Dick is a place to meet up with old friends and meet new ones.
May 11, 2023: Anchor Brewing, 1705 Mariposa Street. Anchor Brewing is America’s first and oldest craft brewery. The rich history of Anchor can be traced all the way back to the California gold rush, when German brewer Gottlieb Brekle arrived in San Francisco with his family. Today, their beers are handmade from an all-malt mash in a traditional copper brewhouse. The process combines the time-honored art of classical craft brewing with carefully applied, state-of-the-art modern methods.
April 13, 2023: Caffe Trieste, 601 Vallejo Street. Caffe Trieste is a local coffee house and shop specializing in Italian-style espresso beverages and assorted traditional Italian snacks to the North Beach neighborhood. Caffe Trieste was established in 1956 as the first espresso coffee house on the west coast at the time. The café was founded by Giovanni Giotta who, after immigrating to the United States from Italy, missed the espresso houses of Italy and decided to open his own coffee house. Caffe Trieste is credited with igniting the “espresso movement.” Extended hours for this event only 4-7 pm!
March 9, 2023: Uptown, 200 Capp Street in the Mission. Uptown is a community-centered and true neighborhood bar where you can go for good conversation, spirited debate, artistic expression, and fun. The bar opened in 1984 in a building that is believed to have housed a neighborhood bar continuously since its construction in 1910.
February 9, 2023: Zam Zam, 1633 Haight Street. Opened in 1941 by Assyrian-born Samson Mooshei as the “Persian Aub Zam Zam,” this cocktail lounge is known for its classic martinis and distinctive 1940s-era Persian Art Deco interior.
San Francisco’s Legacy Business Program is the first-of-its-kind in the U.S. The program supports and promotes iconic, small businesses over 30 years in operation that are long-standing pillars of our communities and neighborhoods.
Did you know? San Francisco Heritage is a Legacy Business! Established in 1971, SF Heritage was added to the Legacy Business Registry on November 28, 2016.
San Francisco Heritage (est. 1971), has protected the city in the face of rapid change by advocating for historic resources, hosting educational programming, and interpreting and preserving cultural heritage. The Legacy Business Program (est. 2015), provides marketing, business assistance, and specialized grants for local small businesses included on the Legacy Business Registry.
Visit the Legacy Business San Francisco website to find a historic business near you. Small business preservation is an important step in maintaining a city’s cultural identity, which helps provide local residents with employment, a sense of place, and community involvement.